The NMB Coalition government is perturbed at the alleged comments attributed to the Deputy Executive Mayor Cllr Mongameli Bobani regarding the recent evictions of people occupying land illegally in the Motherwell area.
We believe that every possible social and legal avenue was pursued to prevent this illegal occupation of land.
we are mandated by Metro residents to provide political leadership, basic services and grow this Municipality, this can only be done in a law abiding fashion and we are committed to follow the law of the land in every aspect.
For the Deputy Executive Mayor to see to incite residents who were recently moved by the Sheriff of the Court from a site where they had erected illegal structures is nothing short of irresponsible in this regard and his behaviour is all the more concerning due to the violent nature of the recent invasions and protests.
It also flies in the face of court's decision.
Forced evictions are a countrywide phenomenon that is guided by the law and as the affected Municipality we have to follow legal processes to the letter when carrying out evictions. Constitutionally, the Municipalities are legally empowered to exercise by-law enforcement to ensure stability within their jurisdiction.
As such, the Municipality has had numerous engagements with the community of Wells Estate to discuss our housing development plan and how this is being rolled out.
Essentially, there is an understanding between the Municipality and the affected communities with regards to our long-term housing strategy.
Every parcel of land in Wells Estate is zoned for a different purpose and as such, the Municipality would jeopardize its long-term housing development strategy if it allows land invasion. Our responsibility as the Municipality is to ensure that we prioritise legitimate housing beneficiaries in our housing list and to rid the system of any fraudulent activities and prejucidial "queue jumping" which has been declared unlawfull by the Constitutional Court.
Ward 29 has been identified for human settlement and the Municipality currently developing the area.
Therefore, the Deputy Executive Mayor seems to have exposed himself as someone who disregards proper Municipal and legal processes and is apparently undermining our long-term turnaround strategy as the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. … [Read more...]

Oakbay comments on the real reasons for finance minister’s court action: Ronica Ragavan, Acting CEO of Oakbay Investments (http://OakbayInvestments.co.za), comments on today’s events in Court: “The ulterior motives of the Finance Minister have been made very clear in Court today. He has used an irrelevant and fundamentally flawed list of transactions to further his warfare against Oakbay and its shareholders. Even worse, he has used both his office and the resources of the State to pursue this. “The reason the Minister is using Oakbay as a pawn for his own political purposes is a mystery to us. Perhaps it is to try and protect the banking sector from future scrutiny into its conduct. Either way, it is reckless and inappropriate. “We look forward to the judgement and are confident that common sense will prevail.”Distributed by APO on behalf of Oakbay Investments Ltd.Contact: corpcomm@oakbay.co.zaMedia filesDownload logo
Source: APO - Africa-Newsroom: latest news releases related to Africa. … [Read more...]